Mumbai, Mar 28 (Mid-day) : A notorious chain snatcher had to be fed three dozen bananas by the police to recover a stolen 20-gram gold chain he had swallowed.

Going bananas: Chain snatcher Mohammad Shahid Alam Shaikh alias Nepali was fed only bananas for two days to recover the stolen gold chain he had swallowed

Mohammad Shahid Alam Shaikh alias Nepali had snatched the chain costing approximately Rs 60,000 from the neck of Dharavi resident Suvarna Kamble (54), in Mahim on Monday, and fled. But, when Kamble shouted for help, bystanders gave chase and managed to nab him.

The crowd gave him a beating before handing him to the cops. “Our beat marshals reached the spot and caught hold of the accused,” said Sunil Deshmukh, assistant commissioner of police, Mahim division.

Police then asked Nepali to hand over the stolen property, but he was vehement and told them that somebody from the crowd had stolen it from him while he was getting thrashed. Despite intense questioning, he stuck to his statement that somebody from the public had nicked it from him.

“We managed to get his custody till March 27, as he had several chain snatching cases registered against him in Mahim and Bandra. The Bandra police station has even externed him, but he continued to frequent the area. On Monday, when we offered him dinner, he refused to consume it. He was offered food on Tuesday, but he refused again.

Moreover, he wasn’t going to the toilet,” said Deshmukh. The odd behaviour made cops suspicious.

Nepali was then taken for a routine medical test to the police hospital in Nagpada. There he began making excuses to avoid the check-up.

“We finally reached the conclusion that he might have swallowed the gold chain, and was pulling wool over our eyes,” added Deshmukh.

The police then started feeding Nepali bananas for two days and would follow him every time he visited the toilet. And finally after four days, yesterday, also the last day of his custody, Nepali let it out